Gleaning at Parker Farm

Yesterday was the highly anticipated CSA member Pick-your-own event at Parker Farm. A good chunk of the membership drove out to the farm - pitchforks, trowels and knives in hand- to glean the remaining produce from Farmer Steve's fields.

It was a beautiful warm fall day. Drier than the originally-scheduled weekend before. Being out in the fields where my CSA bounty was grown is a significant and valuable bookend to the season for me. The sensations of farming: walking the length of a row; tugging at gigantic carrots and turnips; searching for the unturned potato mounds and sifting through the dark, rich soil with my hands; the crisp, taut sound of kale being sliced from the plant...I appreciate this food so much more because I now know the time and care that goes into growing it. Free fresh veggies is pretty awesome, too. Next time, I'm bringing bigger bags.

Thank you, Farmer Steve, for shuttling us in the back of your pickup. Thank you for your patient advice about farmland and the business of farming. And thank you for generously opening your fields up to a group of city slickers who love your vegetables!